Oct 06 Sale v Calvisano

November spawned a monster

I should be a happy man this week: a bonus point win, a kick start to our Heineken Cup campaign and a performance, albeit against a weaker team, of promise and endeavour. Yet, there’s something niggling and nagging at the back of my mind, a cloud on the horizon, something that could take the gloss off what was a good day at the office for the Sharks – no, not the sight of Chabal changing his shorts on the pitch, although some members of the crowd seemed to be happy enough with that. No, it’s the looming prospect of International competition and the ramifications on club rugby.

Still, it’s always best to start with the positives and keep the mood upbeat. Without any disrespect to the opposition, a home win should never have been anything but a formality as Calvisano were soundly beaten on their own turf by Stade Francais last week. What was as important as securing the points was the manner in which the Sharks performed. We needed to play with confidence and belief and rediscover the swagger of last season. It’s true that not everything went as well as expected: our line-out was inconsistent with too many turnovers and our performance at re-starts fell some way short of the standards set against Wasps and Leicester last season. Nevertheless, our back line looked sharp and hungry and our pack looked solid and purposeful. Whilst Ben Foden’s three-try display was rightly lauded, and his Man of the Match award fully deserved, it was good to see some of the older, more experienced professionals start to perform as we know they can. Steve Hanley appeared to have rediscovered some of the old spark, running some good lines and looking dangerous on the wing. Sebastian Chabal looked to be getting back to his brutal and rampaging self and Magnus Lund seemed to be back on top of his game. It was also great to see Andy Titterrell and Natcho Lobbe back in action and looking good. Even with a far from full strength team, we managed to score nine tries and played with our heads up. This, coupled with the less than impressive display by Stade Francais against Ospreys, gives us some hope for the future.

Thomas Hood wrote a poem that I heard as a boy and have always remembered, called ‘November’: “ No sun, no moon, no morn, no noon etc – November.” Perhaps we could add to that, ”no players”! Yes it’s the time of falling leaves, colder temperatures, darkening nights and the dreaded Autumn Internationals – not exactly my favourite time of year. The issue of ‘club versus country’ is one which splits the rugby community down the middle. Personally, I will always side with the club, as that’s where I choose to spend my money: consequently I expect to see the best and strongest players week in, week out. We have a first team squad of thirty six players, but with international and Sevens call ups and long term injuries, Sale Sharks will now be reduced to nineteen. Even with the end of season play-offs, a system ‘apparently’ designed to redress the imbalance caused by international absenteeism, such disruption could be problematic. I’m an optimist though, as I’ve said before and still believe we have sufficient strength in depth to deal with this situation as some of our younger players are already on the cusp of first XV rugby. This will be their chance to emulate Ben Foden, step up to the plate and stake their claim for regular first team action.